A News Blog

Crime and courts in West Alabama

Sunday Robert O’Keith Bates, 21, 400 block of West Limestone, Russellville, was charged with obstructing justice by using false identification. Bail was set at $10,000. Ricky James Young, 32, 1500 block of 29th Avenue, was charged with first-degree receiving stolen property. Bail was set at $10,000. Steven Lee Bobo, 25, 15000 block of County Road 12, was charged with possession of a controlled substance. Bail was set at $5,000. Monday Tracy Shane Findley, 38, 8330 block of Eastview Drive, was… Read More »

A Tuscaloosa man hit a woman with his car Saturday when he drove into her front yard. Bartholomew Moss, 26, was charged with second-degree assault after driving into the yard in the 2700 block of 25th Street. Police said that Moss has had trouble with an occupant of the house in the past. He was sitting in his Buick in front of the house at 8:10 p.m. Saturday when residents asked him to move, said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit… Read More »

Police are still searching for a man accused of stabbing another man with a butcher knife Friday night. Suspect Warren Thomas, 51, and the victim, a 52, were at Thomas’ apartment on 38th Street with a group of men when an argument broke out at 6:50 p.m. The victim was walking to his car when Thomas followed and stabbed him with a butcher knife several times, said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit commander Capt. Loyd Baker. Thomas left the apartment… Read More »

Three people have been charged with murder in the overdose death of a woman in September. Rikki Hayes, 44, died from an overdose of the prescription drug fentanyl on Sept. 10, said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit commander Capt. Loyd Baker. Her son, his girlfriend and his girlfriend’s mother were all charged with murder and manslaughter after a grand jury returned indictments against them on Friday. Casey Wilson Swindle, 22, Shanna Marie Valentine, 19, and Sharron Riley Valentine, 39, were… Read More »

Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man Thursday after finding an inactive meth lab during a traffic stop. Deputies stopped Justin Bradley Martin, 23, on Lock 17 Road near the Jefferson County line. They discovered an inactive meth lab and materials used to make meth in the vehicle, said Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Andy Norris. Martin was charged with second-degree manufacturing a controlled substance. Bail was set at $20,000.

A store clerk was shot once in the neck during a robbery at a convenience store Wednesday night. The clerk, 33, survived the shooting and identified Carlos Smith, 31, as the suspect, said Tuscaloosa County Metro Homicide Unit commander Capt. Loyd Baker. He told officers that Smith shot him while robbing the store in the 2700 block of Elm Street at 8:30 p.m. A witness saw Smith running from the scene, Baker said. Police charged Smith with attempted murder and… Read More »

A former Tuscaloosa County Jail supervisor who used a Taser on three inmates was sentenced Wednesday to serve more than five years in federal prison. Althea Mallisham, 52, was a staff sergeant at the jail in 2008 when the attacks occurred. She pleaded guilty to the charges in November. U.S. District Judge Virginia Hopkins sentenced her to serve 61 months in prison at a hearing in Birmingham on Wednesday morning. Her attorney Tommy Spina wrote in court documents that Mallisham struggled… Read More »

A photo released to the public helped investigators identify suspects who they say broke into several vehicles in different Tuscaloosa neighborhoods. Someone identified a photo of a woman using a stolen credit card as Jessica Malynn Nichols, 23, said Tuscaloosa Police spokesman Sgt. Brent Blankley. She was arrested and charged with five counts of illegal possession of credit cards on Sunday. Further investigation led police to arrest Breanna Leigh Dezell, 21, Brandon Keith Smith, 21, and a 17-year-old whose name… Read More »